


Star Crossed Ink

by gameofoneshots



Series: Sansan are soulmates [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Modern Era, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, no margaery bashing in this house, won't go into detail about joffrey ramsay or harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gameofoneshots/pseuds/gameofoneshots
Summary: Soulmates & Modern AUSandor Clegane has his soulmate's first word tattooed on his body. But the walls he as built up to protect himself from the world may be impenetrable. Is he capable of loving? Is anybody capable of loving him?Sansa Stark has her soulmate's first word written onto her skin. She searches for him, determined to find him, and unite their souls.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Bronn/Margaery Tyrell, Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, Renly Baratheon/Loras Tyrell, Sandor Clegane & Sansa Stark, Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark
Series: Sansan are soulmates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725031
Comments: 123
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1: Sandor

Soulmates, a bunch of horseshit if you asked him. 

The poor woman who was his, she better stay away from him and let him be in his misery. He was not what women wanted, and he had experienced rejection too much, had seen the light leave women’s eyes when they had met him. Enough, he had decided that it was enough. 

No more of that. No more ogling another girl who couldn’t bare to look him in the eyes, no more of that. Sandor Clegane had built up an impenetrable wall made of hatred and self-loathing, and nothing would ever be able to shatter it apart. 

That tattoo, that damned tattoo, sat on his arm, and every now and then, he would feel the urge to trace those letters. Whatever higher power had thought it was a great idea to give people the first word their soulmates had ever said, was an absolute idiot. So many people had “mum” or “dad” written on their skin. Whenever he saw a grown adult, especially one of those suit wearing businessmen who thought so highly of themselves, roll up their sleeves, the smallest grin passed his lips. Nothing beat the fact that they had “dada” on their bodies. 

Nobody had ever asked him about his tattoo. Except for Bronn, but he must have known already. They had been friends for such a long time. He knew, and sometimes he teased him for it. “Bird”. 

“Bird, maybe she lives on the Summer Islands. Probably better for it, never has to see your mug”, Bronn would smile, and although Sandor knew that he didn’t mean it, it stung. Those four letters on his bicep stung, they burned like fire, and made him want to carve them out of his flesh. 

“Better than yours. Mama, really smart. You’re just jealous because I don’t have to walk around looking like every other idiot.” 

Whoever it was, whatever woman was meant for him, he pitted her. A poor little soul she had to be. He didn’t even know what his first words were. Nobody had bothered to tell him. Anything before the burns really, he couldn’t remember. All he knew was the flames, and before he had been nothing. 

Sometimes, in his darkest moments, tough his darkest moments were the ones filled with light and hope, he thought about her. The woman who was meant for him, who must have been so in awe of nature, she had dedicated her first spoken words to it. he would lie on his bed and think about her. Where she lived, what her name would be, the colour of her hair, what her favourite thing to eat was, and whether she would be capable of loving him.

But then he would see his reflection and in it, he would see more than just the scars, that burnt flesh. He would see the hatred within his own eyes, and remember. He was unlovable, but perhaps he was not capable of loving either. 

There was a darkness within his heart, and he didn’t know if anyone would be strong enough to shed a light so bright into his heart, it would chase away the shadows. If that person existed, perhaps the Gods were real after all. But what cruel gods would make someone put their hopes on him? 

Teaching his classes, he sometimes saw his students' parents pick them up. Not all of them were soulmates, and it made him wonder if he could find happiness without the help of some ink on his biceps. Worse, he sometimes wondered if his soulmate had already found her happiness through someone else’s love. But in the end, something childish and so unlike him held onto those words marking his skin, held onto something even deeper than that. 

Bird. Whoever that was, wherever she was, he hoped he would be allowed to lay his eyes on her only once, for just one second. He would die a happy man. 

Also: how do you do normal end notes on the first chapter??? Here are mine! I am so sorry!  
Hey there, friends. I said that I’d be back on my bs with another soulmate AU. The thing is, I have been reading so many Modern AUs, I’m in the headspace for that and not our classical Westeros. I hope that’s alright. Also, all soulmate AUs are from Sansa’s POV. I guess she’s the romantic one, but I thought I’d try his POV. Might switch back and forth though, idk yet. Don’t know how many chapters yet, but we all know that I don’t stick to that anyway.  
Also, please don’t come for my choice of Sansa’s first word. Mine was rabbit, so that sort of stuff is not out of the question.  
I know this was really short, but I pinky promise that I will upload another (longer) chapter tomorrow. I am so sorry!


	2. Chapter 2: Sansa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa is handling her sister finding her soulmate before her and decides to visit an old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick question: if you're on tumblr, (same handle there), can you see my posts? because my tumblr is glitching a lot and I feel like nobody can see my posts.   
> huh, anyway, the fic:

It hurt. Just a little. Maybe a lot. 

She was the older one. Sansa was happy for her sister of course. She couldn’t be happier for her than in this moment. But it stung. It tugged at the threads of her hearts and threatened to rip them out of her chest. 

Arya had found her soulmate. Gendry was a “sweet young man”, as her mother called him. A “decent chap”, “a cool guy”, “a good match”. Her family was right. He was all of those things. 

But, Gods, did it pain her. Arya had always been the one to call soulmates a silly thing only idiots chased after. Yet, she had been the first one to find hers. Sansa was overjoyed for her. She was her little sister. She deserved to be happy, to be loved, and to match her soul, to become whole. 

Not such a long time ago, she had thought that she had found hers. All of them had been lying. Joffrey and his charming smile but wormy lips. Ramsay with his dark hair that reminded her of the North, of home, but his eyes had been vicious, his smile cruel. 

All of them had been lying to her. One way or another she had of course seen the truth, or rather seen the words marking their skin. None of them had the word “bird” written on their arms. She had been too trusting, blinded by the idea of love and unity. They had told her that their first word had been “dog”. 

The second time, with Ramsay, it had felt so real. Joffrey had never liked dogs anyway, but Ramsay? She had met him in the North, at a dog park of all places. Several large black dogs had been sitting at his feet. 

Too good to be true. The next time she had been smarter, had learned from her mistake. Before she even had the time to waste her love, she made Harry show her his tattoo. No bird, no love for him.   
It was almost summer now. She could feel the warm winds of spring on her face, and saw the leaves returning. It was selfish, and it was not who she had been raised to be. 

Her heart was aching, and it was bleeding out and through her blouse, staining it beyond repair. She could not stay in the North. Not with her parents worrying about her. Not with Arya and Gendry. Not with half her friends running around, having found their soulmates, and the other half telling her how great finding a partner that was not your soulmate was.

The South had not been kind to her before, but she was willing to give it a second chance. 

She left the little celebration in the garden and took out her phone. There was one person she had to call. One that would never deny her. 

“Margaery”, she breathed into the speaker. “I wouldn’t ask you if this wasn’t an absolute emergency, but can I please come and visit you?” 

She had called her yesterday about Gendry and Arya. Before anything, before congratulating her sister, the first thing she had asked was, “And how are you holding up? Are you ok?”

It had been at that moment that she realised, no, she was not holding up, she was not ok. It had made her feel awful. She was supposed to be happy for her sister, be over the moon. But she wasn’t. Not really. It was horrible of her, ugly, but she couldn’t force her smiles to reach her eyes. 

It did not take a lot of convincing to make Margaery open her home to her. “I totally need a shopping partner. Loras is wearing me out, and oh, my grandmother has been asking about you!” Sansa had only met Margaery’s grandmother very briefly at their university graduation, but she had made a lasting impression. 

Within an hour, she had her bags packed, and a flight booked. Her parents let her go. “I need a girls vacation. Besides, I haven’t seen Margaery in ages.” 

The next day, she sat in a car with Arya, and with Gendry of course. They barely left each other’s side now. Someday, maybe just once, she wanted to feel that kind of connection. Just once, for a second. 

“If you run into Joffrey again, kick his ass for me”, Arya said when they arrived. She thought that would have been their goodbye, but just as she was about to turn around and walk to chek-in, she felt her sister’s arms around her middle. 

“This isn’t because of me, is it?” Yes. 

“No, never”, Sansa said. She tried to remain composed and calm. Dishonesty never sat right with her, but neither did hurting he sister. 

“Because if it is, I can dump him. Who needs boys anyway? Boys are stupid.”

“Don’t say that”, she said and slapped her sister’s arm playfully, “He’s your soulmate. You should be thanking the Gods right now.” Arya only rolled her eyes. The Gods, and almost anything their mother had taught them was not of Arya’s interest. But perhaps that was why she loved her sister so much. There were a lot of qualities Arya had, and now a soulmate, that Sansa wished, she had as well. 

“Call mum when you land, or else she’ll worry!”

Then, she was gone. Gendry gave her a smile with no teeth, and an awkward wave before he too disappeared into the car. 

Something within her told her that nothing would be like it had when she boarded the plane. Something deep within her spread its wings and like the plane, took off into soaring heights. 

As time passed, and as her view of the North blurred, as clouds shielded her view, she thought about her soulmate again. She could be flying right over his head right now. 

“A bird in flight”, she thought to herself and then had to chuckle. How fitting. 

He was somewhere out there, he had to be. She would find him, if it was the last thing she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you find any mistakes in this fic, blame it on 3 things: my migraines, I never ever edit, and this is technically my 3rd language
> 
> also, ha, ha, I'm predictable. I was originally going to make his first word "knight" and it wouldn't be that unrealistic because my friend's first word was "light" so that's not a far stretch, but idk. If you think it should be knight, comment and vent to me about it. I can change it because I have that version of this chapter saved to my laptop as well, ok, bye


	3. Chapter 3 - Sandor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandor and Bronn run into someone at the airport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya, if you have an idea for a scene, put it in the comments and I might incooperate it. this is our fic, not mine.

The airport was bustling. He didn’t know why he bothered coming in the first place. Didn’t know why he had even left the house. That was on him having friends, well, one particular friend who liked the pub at the airport too much. 

The food was shit, the beer not cold enough, and the prices astronomical. Bronn only came here for one reason and one reason only. Birds. Not his bird, no, not her. 

Pathetic idiot he was, Bronn liked to pick up girls at the bar here. There was always a heart-broken one crying her eyes out at the bar, a few party girls waiting to go on a trip, and the usual loners who came here just to enjoy the buzz of an airport. Plus, he somehow befriended the owner and now he only paid for food, which he never ate. 

Sandor had weighed his options, he could either be miserable at home and watch whatever brain vomit was on TV, or he could be miserable at a pub, with nice and hot food in front of him. Free food.   
He was used to the stares by now, but the ones who hurt the most were women and children. What if his soulmate, his little bird, looked at him like that? What if she was disgusted with the way he looked, with his marred face? What if she couldn’t meet his eye, too horrified to even acknowledge that she was his soulmate. 

And the children. Some were just curious, some were terrified. Looking at him, no one would suspect he would have spared children, let alone his own children, any thought. That was not true. He taught them, and he found them the most accepting. The little ones at the boxing school even told him that he was like one of those superheroes they read about. He would be lying if it hadn’t tugged at the string of his heart just the right way. He wanted children of his own. A little family, but the idea of it also terrified him. There were too many anxieties connected with that word, too many bad memories. 

“Are you going to stand there all day, or does the lady need an invitation to sit her arse down?” Bronn was sitting at the bar, a smug smile on his face, and some ale next to him. 

Sandor only grunted, but walked over to where he sat. Bar stools were tiny. 

“This is Sandor, my friend”, Bronn said and pointed at him. There was a brunette sitting next to him. She was pretty, he had to admit that. A heart shaped face, and a blouse with those small roses on her blouse. “And before you ask, he is as mean as his face makes him.”

He was about to push Bronn’s face into the bar so hard, his face would suffice for mashed potatoes, but the brunette smiled and rose to her feet. 

“Nice to meet you, but I have to go. My friend just landed, and I need to pick her up from the gate.” Sandor looked to the screen above them. A plane from Winterfell had just landed. The North was a miserable place, but he supposed that Kingslanding could possibly be worse. 

“How about you two pretty ladies join us later?” Bronn tried his greasiest smile, and then his nicest, the one that always got the girls, no matter who they were. 

“It was nice to meet you Sandor”, she said politely. “And you too.” She gave Bronn a wink, and then she disappeared. 

“And that’s all you’re going to get from her”, Sandor huffed and removed his friend’s beer to his part of the table. He sipped at his beer. 

Bronn was still staring at the empty seat next to him. It was as if he was trying to conjure her up again, to raise her form from thin air into existence. “I think I’m in love.”

“You’re in love at least five times a day. Anything that has a heartbeat.”

“Just because you’re a monk.”

“Do you even know her name?”

Bronn sighed. “Margaery.”

“You’re never going to see her again”, he said and that was his final word about that. He may not be an expert in women, but he knew that a woman like that was not going to spare guys like Bronn a second look. 

The rest of his night was better and worse than expected. The crowd thinned out very quickly, and Bronn did not latch onto another girl. He probably had had his fill with the brunette. It was sad really. Usually, Sandor would watch Bronn chase after women and that would be his entertainment for the night. It was better than the shit some TV shows produced. After a while, and after a bit of encouragement from the beer, he would have enough courage to think of speaking to a woman. He would never do it though. 

Today, Bronn was useless. He sat at the bar, and was silent as a mute. Normally, he would never shut up, but now, he only his words when it was time to order another round of either food or drink. 

At least he got his fill of free food. Bronn never touched his, and Sandor was the happier for it. By no means was it good, but it was free, and he wasn’t hungry anymore afterwards. 

It must have been near midnight, when he decided to leave. On a usual night, he would leave alone, left with his thoughts and nobody else. Today, he didn’t even have the space to think. Bronn was drunker than usual, and more annoying, too. 

“I’ll meet her again. She must live here, otherwise she wouldn’t have picked her friend up. I’ll give her my number, I’ll take her out-“

“Where? Where are you going to take her out to? You’ve never been on a real date in your life.”

“Neither have you.” 

He ignored him. “A girl like that. Where do you think she’s from? Not from fleabottom like you.” He looked defeated. Bronn’s cocky smile had left his eyes. “Just forget about her. There is nothing different about her from the other girls that end up on your couch. I don’t know why you’re so hung up on her.”

Bronn shrugged. “Don’t know either.” 

The train halted. It was his stop to get off at. He didn’t say goodbye, didn’t remind him to drink some water for his headache. Sandor simply patted his old friend on the shoulder and left. All was said.   
As he walked home, he felt a little green eyed monster sneak up on him. A little fire called jealousy was burning within him. He wished he could be so hung up about someone, wished that he could feel a connection to someone like that. 

He shook his head. No, Bronn was only sad because his ego was hurt. He couldn’t get one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, to stick around. Still, he wished he could feel something like that. Even rejection. Just feel something so he knew he was alive and living and a creature worth to take a second look at.

She had to be somewhere out there, his little bird. And she would make him feel alive, she had to. He hoped she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my good I am so dead, I've been re-painting and renovating the bathroom all weekend and I am sore. who knew that stuff like that could make your muscles feel like shit. so, we are about to start the many almost-run-ins of our two favourite people. 
> 
> also also, I have a great idea of how sansan are going to meet because of renovating my flat. ha ha, I hope it'll work out. 
> 
> and I made enough asparagus soup to feed an army. the sansan army. I swear, april and may are the months that make everyone go crazy about asparagus (at least where I live)


	4. Chapter 4 - sansa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa gets picked up from the airport

She could spot Margaery from a mile away. She was waving her hands around wildly, a bright smile on her face. 

“You’re here”, she squealed and squeezed her tightly. “We are going to have so much fun!”

Sansa was exhausted. Those tiny planes were just not made for her. For anyone, come to think of it. nobody could fit their legs into a space of negative five centimetres. 

“You must be exhausted”, she said and grabbed Sansa’s bag. It was quite large, but only half full. She knew Margaery too well, knew her and Margaery together too well. She would buy more than she needed, more than she wanted to, and would regret it later. 

They headed for the exit, and Sansa noticed that Margaery was more absent than usual. She was physically with her at the exit, but her mind was somewhere far better. 

They stepped out into the parking lot, into the warm evening air. She breathed in slowly. She had missed the South. The last time she had been here, she had been a different person. Sansa had left King’s Landing in a hurry. She had never said goodbye to all those places around the city that she loved so dearly. It had been a different world back then. 

Loras was already waiting for them. She was surprised that Renly wasn’t with him, but she supposed that he had still been at work when they had left to come pick her up. 

“I could have taken the train and met you at home”, she said and blushed lightly. “So much fuzz around silly little me.”

“It’s no trouble”, he said and opened the boot. 

There was still a somewhat awkward tension between them. Of course Sansa had always been in love with her soulmate, and only him. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know him, but she loved him already. Still, a few odd years ago, she had had a childhood crush on him. Loras drew in all the heart-eyed gazes. Even worse that he had always been so unhappy on his own. Renly had changed that, and come the next spring, she would attend their wedding. 

She went to open the back door, but Margaery insisted she sit at the front. 

Loras killed the engine a couple of times before they were able to set off. “New car”, he said shyly. It made sense. The Tyrell’s were the wealthiest family she knew, well not exactly, but she pretended that the other one didn’t exist. Both of the girls did. 

“Where are we going? I need to tell my mother where I’m staying, or else she’ll come down here personally to organise a search party.”

“Depends”, said Loras. “Do you want to take a shower first, or are you hungry?”

“A shower sounds like a dream.” She was sitting in a new car, sticky and exhausted, next to arguably two of the most beautiful people in Westeros. 

“We’ll go to Margaery’s then. Later we can head out for some dinner. Renly can make a reservation at any place you like.” 

“Sound like a wonderful plan”, she smiled. The sandstone of King’s Landing blurred into one colour as they drove along the city. It was strange to think of all the people she had gladly left behind, and of the girl from the North that had left the city wiser and with less of a smile. 

The Red Keep stood proudly on top of the hills. A shudder ran down her spine. 

“He’s returned to Casterly Rock you know.” 

“Sorry?”

“All of the Lannisters have.” Loras smiled at her sadly. “They are gone.”

Somehow that knowledge made her happier than anything in the world. Happier than if someone offered her a lemon cake right now. He was gone. His mother too. She could walk the streets of King’s Landing as a free woman.

She sent a quick text to her mother, and immediately received a call. Perhaps her mother didn’t understand the social queue of not calling when someone was texting, but at least she knew that her mother wasn’t worried about her. 

Half way through her conversation, her mother asked about Margaery, and Sansa went to give her phone to her, but she kept staring out the window like she was seeing a ghost. 

“She’ll talk to you later. I love you!”

“I love you too, and please text me every day, so I know that you’re well.” 

“I will! Bye!” Sansa hung up, but not before she heard her baby brother scream “I love you” in the background. She loved the little tornado, too. 

She turned around to see that her friend hadn’t changed her position in half an hour, not a single hair on her head had moved. 

“Are you ok”, she said and reached out to grab her by the arm. 

“What?” Her doe eyes lit up. An actual deer in headlights. 

“Are you ok”, she repeated. 

Margaery only hummed in response. “Just thinking.”

“About what”, she asked tentatively. Perhaps she was just as scared as she was, but no, that couldn’t be. If Loras knew that Joffrey was gone, she had to know as well. Something was wrong, something was troubling her. 

She shook her head, and some of that beautiful brown hair fell into her face. “Just this man I met at the airport.” She stroked her arm softly. 

“What about him?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I don’t know. He’s not at all my type, never in a million years, but something about him. I couldn’t tell you if you held a knife to my throat.”

Just then, Sansa became painfully aware of Loras in the car. It was incredibly awkward to have these kinds of conversations in front of someone’s brother. To his credit, he pretended like he wasn’t listening. She had never seen someone drive with their eye’s glued to road so intensely as Loras right now. 

“Tell me about him”, she said softly. 

And Margaery did. For the entire remainder of the drive to her apartment. She described his face, his voice, his flirtiness in such detail that she could picture this Bronn in all his colours. 

“How long did you two talk?” it seemed to her that they must have had a conversation longer than her flight. Five hours at least. 

“Twenty minutes, until his friend arrived. Now, that one I can’t tell you much about, but I remember that he had these horrible scars on one side of his face and-“

“You talked to him for twenty minutes? You just talked about him for almost an hour.” Sansa laughed, and then it hit her. It hit her full force at lightspeed. 

“Margaery”, she almost screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello there, hope you like this one, and haha, I for the first time have little to talk about on here.


	5. Chapter 5: Sandor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We visit Sandor at his boxing school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for being absent. I wish I could say I had taken the time off to work on my many assignments that I'm successfully procrastinating (and that are due next week) but I haven't.  
> I've been day dreaming about a new book idea I have and it's going ok so far.  
> Also, I have been writing this for 3 hours because I have 0 motivation, and I've been making TikToks, pretending like my 90s baby ass belongs on that app.

It was only Monday morning, but Sandor had his fill of this Margaery by now. Ever since Bronn had come to work, he had not stopped moaning about her. They were opening the school, and just then his friend let out a deep sigh.  
"Will you stop it?" 

But Bronn barely heard him. He had got it into his head to look that woman up on the Internet. “A pretty girl like her has to have some social media.”

There was nothing that he could argue against that. Bronn was using one of the computers at the reception to find out more about her. So far, he had been unsuccessful. He was moving on to Instagram now. The main computers were logged into the Boxing School’s account. 

“Don’t message her some creepy shit from the computer. The last thing I need is you chasing away costumers.”

He left his friend then, and got ready for his first class. They offered all sorts of classes. His favourite ones were the after school classes. The children were the easiest to work with. The ones with the least judgement of him, or his face. 

His heart had almost burst through his rib cage when one of the little boys had admitted that, “Mr. Sandor, I like you better than Mrs. Hightower. She’s my favourite teacher at school, she does art.”  
He had knelt down to her, and still he had towered over her. “You’re my favourite, too. Don’t tell anyone.” It was a little lie. He loved all of his students, but some did have the ability to make him feel normal, like a good person. 

It was only ten in the morning. He wouldn’t have the first after school class until three. Today’s first class was another one special to his heart. A self-defence class. 

None of the people attending were interested in fighting, or were fighters. All they wanted was to be safe. He understood that. He knew the feeling. 

The demand for those kind of classes was higher than ever. King’s Landing was a shit place after all. Some of the people attending sought confidence to say ‘No’ and that was all. Some were trying to make their family less worried when they stayed out late, and others, others were like him. They had started to fight back against the people who had hurt them. 

The class went smoothly, and as the last person left his training room, he let loose a sigh. Sometimes he wondered if he was the best person to teach people who were scared. Bronn was useless today, he couldn’t have taken over anyway, but he was always conscious of his looks. The bloody mirrors didn’t help with that. 

He found Bronn exactly where he had left him. His friend was grinning from one ear to the other. From the screen, the brunette from yesterday stared back at him. She was having some sort of pink cocktail, a read head right at her side. The location was tagged at one of those stupidly expensive restaurants. 

“That her?” He took a big sip of water. He got warm so quickly. 

Bronn only nodded. “It’s from last night.” 

“So”, he said. “What are you going to do now?” He doubted Bronn could ever afford an entire dinner at that place. He had been right. The girl reeked of money. As did her stupidly pretty friend. 

“I liked her picture, maybe she fancies herself a good workout here.” He shrugged. 

Oh no. This was not what he had said. That was exactly the opposite of what he had said. 

“Before you get your knickers in a twist, she has more followers than the population of King’s Landing. She’s not going to see it.” 

“Then what was the point”, he said angrily but quietly. He didn’t need to scare away customers because he was yelling. Especially not little ones wanting to sign up. 

“It’s a start. And more action than you have had in months.” With that he left his chair and went to the back. There was a class he had to teach in 10 minutes. 

It was Sandor who was on desk duty now. Their normal secretary or whatever her official title was, was on maternity leave for the next weeks and now he was left to greet students whenever Bronn was teaching. 

Time went by quickly, he got a few calls about cancelling or moving class, he made some appointments for taster sessions, and tried to work on the upcoming classes. The phone rang again just when Bronn was about to return. He thought about letting it ring and making Bronn call them back, but with a sigh he picked up the phone. 

“Blackwater Boxing, Sandor speaking, how may I help you.” He hated such formalities, but he scolded Bronn for being rude to customers, so he supposed he had to follow his own rules. 

A small voice at the other end replied softly. “Hi, I was wondering if you still have any available spots in a Self Defence class”, she paused for a second and he could hear someone talk in the background. “For me and my friend.” 

He almost laughed. So polite. But that could be why this girl wanted to train. “We have an evening class on Wednesday and a morning class on Sunday. Does that work for you and your friend?” 

“Wednesday sounds great.” 

“Class starts at eight. Please be here twenty minutes earlier so we can sort everything out. Could I please have your names”, he said and pulled out the class sheet. 

“Margery Tyrell and Sansa Stark.” 

“Got it.”

“See you in two days,” the voice said. He hung up before he could growl back that he wouldn’t be here on Wednesday. Bronn taught that class. Good customer service and all. No need to be a dog and make the girl fear coming to the class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so: I found my old Nintendo from 2008 and I was so excited because I have animal crossing on there, and as I am an adult, I didn’t really think it was a wise decision to buy a switch for just animal crossing (also, my mum would say no, i know that i’m not a teenager, I’m in my twenties, but that’s on strict parents and on trying to be a disappointment) so, turns out my old animal crossing is BROKEN ☹. Who’d have thought that it would break if you bought it 12 years ago. BUT I found the old Lego Star Wars complete saga, so that’s great.  
> Also also, I literally had to google so many things, I didn’t want training to be unrealistic and I only know Taekwondo training sessions. I’m taking writing this too seriously.


	6. Chapter 6 - Sansa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa is early for her self defence class

Sansa was standing outside of the boxing studio. Why on earth was she this early? The lesson wouldn’t being for another hour. She had looked up how to get there, and taken the train an hour earlier, just in case. She was worried about the trains being delayed, her missing a connecting train, and not finding her way to the study. None of that had happened. 

She was an hour early. Margaery wouldn’t arrive for another thirty minutes. She was at work, and had taken the car. Loras had offered her his car, or a taxi, but she had declined both offers. It was nice to take the train by herself. She hadn’t done that in years. 

Now, she thought that she should have either accepted the offer, or not have worried so much. 

Sansa didn’t know what was more awkward, standing in front of the studio, looking lost, or going inside and admitting that her overly anxious brain had made her come here early. 

She paced around for a minute, when she felt the first drop hit her shoulder. It was starting to rain. Being early was stupid, but standing outside and then entering after thirty minutes, drenched from head to toe, would be the most embarrassing thing she could do right now. 

With a sigh, she pushed open the door, defeated in the realisation that everyone would now think she was crazy. Who paced around in front of a glass wall for ten minutes before coming inside? Who arrives an hour early? Her. 

The studio was nicer than she had thought it was going to be. Margaery and Sansa had debated how they were going to find this Bronn, and after a few minutes of high profile internet stalking, they had found his picture on a website to belonging to this boxing school. 

She looked around, and there were a couple of people chatting in front of the reception. Almost none of them looked like they belonged here either. They had high end boots, she could tell which ones if she tried hard enough, and most of the women had wonderfully sleek hair. 

She contemplated starting a conversation with someone, anyone, but alas was too shy. 

“You look lost”, the man behind the desk said. He was perhaps as tall as her, maybe a bit shorter. His hair was rugged. He must have been working out before. After hours of staring at this man’s pictures on the Internet, she should have recognised his grin. This was Bronn. The Bronn. Margaery’s Bronn. 

“I’m Sansa”, she said. “I’m here for a taster session for the evening self defence class.”

“Best class there is”, he replied and then looked at his watch. “A bit early, isn’t it?”

Her gaze dropped immediately. Yes, it was early. She was aware of that. Gods, why had she come inside. “I’m sorry about that.” 

“That’s alright.” He smiled. Margaery had mentioned his smile. Thinking about it, they both had a very similar smile. They often liked to wear it on their lips and gave it to anyone who was passing by. It was quite remarkable. 

“You can go change if you want to.” He stood from his seat and pointed around the corner. “See that hallway? Women’s locker room is the second to the left.” 

“Thank you”, she said and made her way to the changing rooms. She tried to walk as slowly as possible. The longer she would take doing any normal task, the less time she would have to sit in the changing room awkwardly, waiting for Margaery. 

Perhaps she looked like even more of a fool now, but it was too late for that already. First door on the left. She heard some upbeat music coming from inside. 

She supposed someone had turned the radio on. At least she wouldn’t have to wait in a deathly still room. 

As soon as she opened the door, she realised her mistake. It was second to the left. Not first. She had swung the door open with such confidence, and here she was now. There were a dozen children with boxing gloves in the room staring directly at her. The instructor whipped his head around. 

He was a giant. Tall, dark hair and deep brown eyes. Then, she saw the side of his face that was hidden by the shadows. It was scarred, perhaps some burn wounds. Before she could make an even bigger fool of herself, she slammed the door shut again. And whispered a quick “Sorry.”

Now the people in the foyer made sense. They were probably parents waiting to pick their children up. Gods, she was an idiot. She should have never agreed to coming here. She should have made Margaery come here by herself. After today, she would never set foot in this studio again. She would never have to see Bronn again, or the other instructor that had stared at her with daggers in his eyes. Soulmates were stupid, god, they were as stupid as her. 

She ran for the changing room, and picked the locker the furthest away from anyone. All she could do now, was wait for her friend and get this day over with. 

To her credit, Margaery arrived soon after. She had already changed, and by the way she was dressed, she was going in for the kill. 

“It’s not that easy”, she said. “You have a special word you can look out for, and you have a special word on your arm. More than eight out of ten people’s first word was either mama or dada. I don’t know if he truly is, you know-“

“Your soulmate. Got it, just don’t make me come here again”, she laughed. 

They headed for the reception. The music had died inside the other room. Good. She hoped the instructor was gone as well. 

Her heart dropped, when she saw that he was now standing at the reception together with Bronn. They were supposed to sign a few things, and maybe look at a contract later. Somehow, she had to get out of this. Perhaps he wouldn’t recognise her, but that was impossible. Who wouldn’t forget the face of an idiot read-head that swung open doors mid class. 

It was Bronn who noticed them first, or rather noticed Margaery. His eyes lit up the second he laid his eyes on her. The corners of his mouth almost reached his ears. This would erupt into flirting hell, and she would be stuck right in the middle of it. 

“Hello again”, he said and gave her friend a playful wink. 

“Hello again.” They stared at each other for a second. 

“We’re here for the self-defence class”, she said to interrupt the strange tension. 

Bronn made quick work of finding the necessary paperwork. They signed the forms, but Sansa couldn’t help but notice the two of them looking at each other again, and again. 

“Perhaps you would like a tour of all the facilities?” Margaery happily agreed, and the good friend and wing-woman she was, she decided to stay behind on the false pretences that she had already seen everything. She was left behind, standing next to the other man, the instructor from earlier. 

“I’m sorry”, she said. “I thought it was the changing room, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s alright. Bronn probably gave you shit instructions on how to get there.” He said it was alright, but it didn’t look like it. His arms were crossed, and his entire body was pointed away from her. She could only see the unmarked side of his face. 

“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s alright”, he said again. “You should go to class. Perhaps Bronn is be done ogling your pretty friend by now. Don’t want to be late your first class.” He pointed towards the studio she was supposed to go to, and then resumed his work at the front desk. 

He thought Margaery was pretty. Everyone did. Rightly so. Something within her made her frown. Did he think she was ugly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there party people, I wanted to upload earlier, but I put on the into the woods soundtrack and sung my heart out. Haha sorry. Also, I have been forced to renovate my mother’s bathroom. Glad that I’m not a trained painter but a historian. Love that for me.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like this one, perhaps some seasoned readers of mine are back here? If so: helloooooooo! I missed you. If you’re new here: i have another soulmate AU (completed and 12 chapters) that you can read while you wait on another update. You’ll find it in the Soulmate collection.


End file.
